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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Bearing Witness

Disclaimer: I was given products in this post for the purpose of review. I was not paid in anyway to write this review. All opinions are my own.

Bearing Witness

Have you ever really sat down and thought about those words? I live in a place where being a Christian and accepted actually it is expected! I can talk about my faith wherever and whenever I want with no repercussion. When I read my Bible I see where people have suffered from their Faith. Where they were punished for following Jesus. In my mind this was the way of old times. This is how things USE to be.

Wrong :( This kind of punishment and repercussion still occurs today, people are still punished for their faith. It has been going on non stop since the start of Christianity.

The book Bearing Witness drives that point home with stories of people who were punished for their faith. Stories of what disciples look like.

About the Book:

What does it cost to follow Jesus? For these men and women, the answer was clear. They were ready to give witness to Christ in the face of intense persecution, even if it cost them their lives. From the stoning of Stephen to Nigerian Christians persecuted by Boko Haram today, these stories from around the world and through the ages will inspire greater faithfulness to the way of Jesus, reminding us what costly discipleship looks like in any age. Since the birth of Christianity, the church has commemorated those who suffered for their faith in Christ. In the Anabaptist tradition especially, stories of the boldness and steadfastness of early Christian and Reformation-era martyrs have been handed down from one generation to the next through books such as Thieleman van Braght’s Martyrs Mirror (1660). Yet the stories of more recent Christian witnesses are often unknown. This book is part of the Bearing Witness Stories Project, a collaborative story-gathering project involving Anabaptist believers from many different traditions and locations.My review:The book of course is well written and at time I had to put it down because it made me sad to see what people had to go through. It is an account though, if people are still Bearing Witness then miracles are still happening, people are still fighting the good fight of faith! To often we miss the little things and I after reading this book can admit I even miss the bad. We need to open our eyes to what is going on around us. I live in a place where sharing my faith is accepted, sharing my faith is considered a good thing and I am loved for it. Reading this book made me realize just how lucky I am. It hurts my heart to know that some people are still punished for following Jesus and his word. My boys are only 5 and 8 so a bit to young to read this book. As they get older though and start to drift from the Church as so many teenagers do I am going to have them read this book. So they can realize that people today are still fighting for the religious freedom. It isn't a gift that should be taken lightly. I think this is a book all Christians should at some point in time read. This book isn't just a story of death and how these people died it is the story of their lives and how they Bared Witness.To learn more about this book Please see my link below:Bearing Witness